During the hunt for off-campus housing, the variety of neighborhoods Boston University students target for their searches each offer their own advantages, with the final decision ultimately coming down to students’ wallets.
The affordable housing options of the Allston-Brighton area just beyond West Campus are generally attractive to BU students, real estate agents said. Allston’s restaurants and other venues geared toward the college crowd, especially upperclassmen old enough to go to bars, make it a desirable location to live for bargain-hunting students, said Comm. Ave. Associates realtor Chris Bove.
“At the end of the day, it’s your preference that counts,” Bove said. “Would you prefer the pricier South Campus setting or the youthful, more affordable West area?”
With its elegant apartments, the Brookline neighborhood just beyond South Campus offers the most convenient location in regard to navigating the BU campus, students say, but the neighborhood is pricier than Allston-Brighton.
After Brookline’s higher prices convinced Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences senior Alison Werner to move to an apartment beyond West Campus near Packard’s Corner, she said she plans to move to an apartment on Aberdeen Street after she graduates.
“It’s much quieter, quaint and has more of a community feel,” she said.
College of Arts and Sciences senior Lindsey Shepherd, who lives on Beacon Street, said living right near South Campus is almost as convenient as living in BU housing.
“For the location, the price isn’t very unreasonable,” she said. “If anything needs to be fixed, someone comes really quick. It’s also a very close, convenient location.”
And although the Back Bay and Fenway areas – other neighborhoods that attract students – is right on the doorstep of the BU campus, these neighborhoods are generally too expensive for many students.
“Everyone loves the Back Bay area, but most students tend to be priced out,” said Josh Goldman, a realtor from of A ‘ S Realty. “Fenway is probably their best bet due to central location and virtual walking distance from campus.”
Goldman added, however, that Fenway — where a two-bedroom apartment usually costs between $1,600 and $1,900 per month — could offer other unique advantages to BU students that neighborhoods farther away from campus cannot.
“Whatever the difference, it will probably pay for itself anyway,” he said. “For example, you most likely wouldn’t need a T pass.”
Some BU students even choose to make their home in Cambridge, despite challenges posed by high rent and difficult transportation across the Charles River. But the hassle is not worth it, said ApartmentHub.com realtor Mark Porter.
“You get more for your money in Allston-Brighton than you do in Cambridge,” Porter said in an email.
When choosing housing, safety concerns ultimately must factor into students’ decisions. Werner said she never felt particularly unsafe in either neighborhood she has lived in, but said students must be cautious at night in Boston, just as they should be in any other city.
Recent reports of sexual assaults at the bars popular around the Allston residential areas have made students, including Werner, more cautious about walking home at night.
Though he would not comment on specific crime statistics, Ari Chiesa of Jacob Realty said Allston is not as dangerous as other parts of the city.
“Allston is not Jamaica Plains,” he said. “It’s an up-and-coming neighborhood, and it’s an extension of a college town.”
Chiesa added that landlords in Allston, more than anywhere else in the Boston area, are more willing to accommodate students because the area is predominantly inhabited by students.
The large number of available apartments opening up this season also allow students “a little more leniency” in choosing their housing, with a lot of open spots available until April, he said.